


Learning to Trust

by LuxAve



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Adopting, Child Neglect, Gen, Human!Guardians, Orphan - Freeform, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-23 22:52:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2558654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuxAve/pseuds/LuxAve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neglected, abused and unloved. Will he be able to get the help and care he has always be deprived of?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Big, baby blue eyes opened as the first ray of sunshine hit them. The baby the eyes belonged to, let out a little coo as he fully awoke, eager to start another day.

Quietly, he laid there in the play pen he had fallen asleep in, patiently waiting for his mother to wake up to feed him. He occupied his time by watching out of the big picture window, smiling a toothless smile whenever a bird would land on a tree branch. He would let out a soft coo if he could hear it sing.

After a long while, the little baby started to get antsy. He began to lye out a few whimpers every few minutes, before they turned into full on cries.

The sound of a door slam resounded throughout the home, quickly followed by heavy footsteps approaching the room he was in. The little baby flinched at the sudden loud sounds, whimpering after every few cries.

"Would you shut up, already?" A female voice screeched as she walked up to the play pen the little defenseless baby was in.

Scared, the baby fell quiet, looking up at his mother. The frightening feeling passed, and the baby reached up his tiny arms, reaching for the warmth and comfort of his beloved mother. He gave a gummy smile and cooed happily.  
His mother's expression didn't change from the angered one she wore when she walked in. "What do you want now?" She hissed as she watched the happy, bouncy baby reach toward her. She rolled her dark brown eyes and stepped away from the pen, and stomped toward the kitchen.

The little baby boy stopped cooing and looked up, confused, at the empty space where his mother just stood in, with his arms still out stretched. Tiny tears welled up in his bright blue eyes. He let out a quiet, little cry before he wailed again.

His mother stomped back into the room. "Here!" She harshly snapped as she all but threw a bottle of formula into the pen. "There's your damn food, now be quiet!" She disappeared again and a door slam was heard again.

The baby boy just laid there, looking over at the bottle that was rolled up against the other side of the pen. He tried to reach for it, but it was too far away. He whimpered when he failed to get his food, and tears filled his eyes again, spilled out and down his cheeks. But this time, he didn't cry out.


	2. Chapter Two

A little boy, no older than three, sat on the living room floor of his trailer home playing with his alphabet blocks. He was completely content with playing his made up game while his mother was out of the house.

The front door opening then slamming shut alerted the tiny tot of his mother's arrival. Knowing the daily drill, he quickly picked up his blocks and toddled to his knocked over playpen and crawled under the blankets.

The tall figure of his mother stumbled in the room with and equally tall male. They both flopped down on the couch and smashed their faces together. They both laughed at how clumsy they were in their current drunk state.

Patiently, the blue-eyed toddler waited for his mother to tell him to come out. He occupied himself, slightly, by playing with his stuffed bunny. He waved it around above his head as he made 'pew' sounds, pretending the bunny with gray markings was a space ship. And the 'pews' were lasers shooting, like in that movie his mother watched a few days before.

But a rumbling in his tummy disturbed his play. He sat up and struggled to get untangled from his torn blue blanket, before he staggered out of his playpen.

"Mommy?" The little boy walked over to his mother and the strange man with gold eyes.

She pulled away from the man's face to glare at her brown haired toddler. "What do you want, boy?" She almost hissed.

"Can I have cheerios?" The blue-eyed child stood in front of the couch.

His mother rolled her eyes, but didn't move to get up. "If you can reach them, you can have them."

The child smiled and took off toward the kitchen. His smile got bigger when he saw the box of Honey Nut Cheerios on top of the refrigerator.

After a moment of thinking, he pushed a kitchen chair up to the counter and pulled himself up and onto the faux granite counter. He stood on his tippy-toes as he leaned against the refrigerator and reached up. No matter how high he reached, he still couldn't grab the box.

Defeated, he climbed back down and started to go back to his mother. "Mommy, I can't reach it." He softly said.

His mother sighed dramatically as she pulled away from the strange man again to look over at the boy. "Kid-" She started.

"I can get it for him." The man gave the boy a soft smile.

"If you want." She flicked her hand in the air.

The man nodded and stood up. "Where's it at squirt?" The man asked as he followed the bouncy boy into the kitchen.

"Up there." The boy pointed to the golden yellow box with a smiling bee on it.

"That's pretty high up." The man noted.

"I couldn't reach it." The boy frowned slightly.

"One day, you'll be able to reach it." The man said.

"Really?" The child perked up once more as the box was handed to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want a bowl?" The man asked.

"No thank you." The boy sat in a chair and grabbed a napkin and opened it up before he poured some cheerios on it.

The man gently messed up the child's unruly brown hair, causing the boy to laugh.

* * *

 

"Boy!" The toddler's mother stomped into the living room after saying goodbye to the strange man.

The little boy froze from playing with his blocks at the serious tone of his mother's voice.

"What did I tell you about interrupting me when I have someone over?" She hissed as she put her hands on her waist as she stood in front of the little child.

"Not to." The blue-eyed boy mumbled.

"And what did you do?" She raised her voice a little more.

"Interrupted." The child mumbled again.

"Yes. And what did I say would happen if you did that?" She had a smirk on her face.

"No food." The boy sighed, already hungry again from his little snack hours ago.

"Exactly. Now," She walked behind the boy. "Get over here." The boy quickly got up and toddled over to where she was raising his playpen up off the ground. "Get under it." She commanded.

He did as he was told and curled up with his blankets on the floor as she lowered the playpen over him, upside down. Successfully trapping him under it for the rest of the night.

"Now, go to sleep. I don't want to hear a sound out of you." She stomped away to her room, leaving him stuck under the pen in the living room.

* * *

 

He woke up to the sound of the front door slamming shut. He sat up with the intent to play with his blocks until his mother returned, but found her was still under the playpen.

"Mommy?" He called. "Mommy?"

Silence.

"Mommy?" He called louder.

Still no answer.

"Mommy?!" He cried, as the fear of being alone and trapped started to over come him. "Mommy!"

His little heart started beating faster, and his breathing picked up. "Mommy!" He cried again, louder than before. Tears slipped out of his eyes, trekking down his face and he leaned against the side of the playpen. "Let me out!" He sniffled. "Please?" He quietly added.

* * *

 

Hours later, his mother returned. When she walked into the living room the tiny tot sat up in his cocoon of blankets.

"Mommy!" He smiled.

She didn't return the gesture.

His smile dropped of his face. "Can I come out now?"

"We're going on a trip." She simply stated, face void of emotion.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow.   
> it's been a while.   
> like, a long while.  
> sad thing is, the chapters i'm getting ready to post here, aren't new and have been on my fan fiction since '13.   
> wow.

The tiny tot watched from under the playpen as his mother quickly flew about the room stuffing a few things in his tiny Spiderman backpack and a blanket and change of clothes and shoes in a child size suitcase.

The boy hugged his stuffed rabbit close to his little body as his mother approached him.

"Come on, boy." She said as she lifted the playpen up so he could scamper out from under it.

"Where are we going mommy?" He asked, following her out of the room, toward the front door.

"Just on a little trip." She replied, voice flat.

When they stepped out of the small trailer, the child saw the strange man from a few days prior. He gave the man a small wave. The man seemed nice, he had gotten the cheerios from on top of the fridge. His mother never did that for him.

The man gave a small wave back. "Katherine!" He called the boy's mother's name.

"I have nothing to say to you." She hissed at the man with golden eyes.

"Where are you going?" The man asked gently.

"We're just going on a little trip." She curtly replied. "You have interfered enough, Pitch."

"Wait, please?" He tried as he watched her all but the small child in the beat up car.

"No. This is your fault." She slammed the door, startling the blue-eyed boy in the back seat.

"My fault?!" She all but screeched. "This is my fault? How is this my fault? You are the one who went and got authorities involved!"

"Yes, Katherine, this is your fault." Pitch growled. "You leave him home alone all day, you didn't help him get the cheerios down, off the refrigerator I may add, he's very unhealthy and you don't even know his name!"

"I do too know his name!" Katherine spoke through clenched teeth.

"Really? Then what is it?" Pitched questioned, leaning up against her car.

She thought for a moment. "Jack. His name is Jack."

Pitch didn't buy it. "You made that up."

She huffed. "Fine! I did. I never named him. I was originally gonna leave him with his father! But then his father disappeared before I could." She got in Pitch's face. "Now, if you don't mind, my son and I are going on a little trip. So move." She stated before stomping over to the driver's side.

Pitch stepped away from the car and looked in the window at 'Jack'. The blue-eyed boy was smiling at him. Pitch gave him a small sad smile back, all he could do was wave as Katherine started the car and sped away, leaving Pitch in the dust.

* * *

Katherine started to slow the car down when they got into Atlanta, she acted as if she didn't know what was wrong with the car.

"Oh no." She mumbled loud enough for Jack to hear in the back seat.

"What's wrong mommy?" He asked as he moved to sit on the floor of the car.

She sighed dramatically, not that Jack would know the difference. "The car is slowing down."

"Why?" Jack asked, his blue eyes wide.

"I think there's too much weight in the back seat." Katherine told him. "The car isn't used to having someone in the back seat."

"Oh, is it my fault?" Jack questioned.

"It might be. Can we try something really quick?" She asked him as she pulled over to the side of the road, where no one was around.

"Sure." Jack said, hoping this problem gets solved soon, so they could get to their destination.

Katherine got out of the car and walked over to Jack's side. She opened the door and curtly pulled Jack's out of the car as well as his two bags. "Now, Jack-"

"Who's Jack?" The boy asked.

"You are." Katherine told him.

"Really?" Jack asked, excitedly.

"Yes, Jack Frost." She pulled the second name out of thin air. "That's always been your name. Anyways, what I'm going to do is, you're going to wait here, and I'm going to drive around the block to see if the 'extra weight' theory I have is right or not. If it is, we'll think if something to do, and if it's not, we'll continue on our way." She told Jack, as she stood up. "Got it?"

Jack nodded.

"Alright, remember, stay here until I get back." She started backing away towards her side of the car. "I shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

"I have a question." Jack announced.

"And that would be?" His mother asked, nicely, out of character.

"Who was that man you were with earlier before we left?" He asked, curious.

"His name is Pitch Black." She stated. "Now, I'll be right back." She got in her car, and pulled slowly away. Jack watched as she turned the corner and disappeared from his view.

Patiently, Jack waited in the same spot he was told to stay at. Minutes passed by and his mother still had yet to return.

_'Traffic_.' Jack thought as he sat on the ground.

* * *

An hour passed and she had still yet to return. He was beginning to think she wasn't coming back.

* * *


	4. 4

'Jack Frost' sat on the ground, leaning against an old brick building. Even with the cold and snow that had started falling, he still stayed where his mother told him to stay at.

_She's coming back; she's just checking the car._ He mentally told himself.

* * *

When the sun started set, the fear of his mother not coming back started to seep into his tiny young mind. Tears filled up his eyes, blurring his vision, he tried his hardest not to let them fall. But a small hiccup escaped his lips as he unzipped his Spiderman backpack in search of his stuffed bunny. When he found it, he hugged it tight to his tiny frame as he scooted impossibly close to the wall of the brick building.

In the silence of the evening, he heard footsteps approaching from around the corner. His little heart started to beat at a very unhealthy fast rate; being scared, he decided, was not a fun thing to feel.

A figure rounded the corner and stop when they saw little Jack. Then they picked up their pace and walked toward Jack. When the stepped into better lighting, Jack saw it was a police officer, but he still tried to scoot back, away from this stranger.

"Hey," The strange Australian accented man knelt down in front of Jack and held his hands up to show he meant no harm. "What are ya doing out here?"

Jack didn't answer, he just stared at the officer with fear in his blue eyes, frightened tears threatened to fall.

"Hey, hey, hey," The officer began trying not to scare Jack anymore than he already is. "Don't cry, bud, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

Jack sniffled as he hugged his stuffed bunny even tighter.

"What's your name?" The officer asked gently.

"J-Jack." The tiny blue-eyed boy stuttered.

"Well, Jack, I'm Officer Bunnymund." The Australian Officer held out his hand to the boy.

"Hi." Jack slowly reached out to shake the stranger's hand.

"It's very nice to meet ya Jack." Officer Bunnymund offered a warm smile. "I have a question, if ya don't mind me asking." He waited for Jack to say something, and when he didn't Bunnymund continued. "Where are your parents?"

Jack sniffled again and became slightly fidgety. "Mother said she'd be right back."

"When was that?" Bunnymund asked as he moved to sit next to Jack, leaning against the brick wall.

Jack shrugged his little shoulders.

Bunnymund looks at Jack for a moment, not saying anything. "Do you mind if I wait with you?"

"No." Jack quietly said, in fact, he was glad the officer was sitting with him. He hated being left alone. And he's spent hours alone in a strange town he's never been in before.

* * *

Officer Aster Bunnymund looked down at Jack as they both sat there against the wall. Bunnymund could tell Jack had been sitting there for a while; the poor child was shivering like a leaf in a windstorm. Letting out a soft sigh, Bunnymund unbuttoned his police coat and draped it over Jack's small shoulder, the fabric instantly swallowing him up.

"Thank you." Jack murmured as he snuggled into the coat.

"Listen, Jack," Bunnymund began, as Jack turned to face him. "Ya've obviously been out here for a while, and something must have distracted your mother. So, why don't we go down to the police station, ya can get warm, maybe get something to eat, and we'll wait for your mother there."

Jack vigorously shook his head. "Mother said I had to stay right here."

Bunnymund gave the boy a sad look. "How about this, we go down to the station, get ya something to eat and get ya warm, and if it's not too late, we'll come back here."

Jack continued to shake his head. "She said I had to stay here."

The Australian officer gently pinched the bridge of his nose in slight frustration. "Jack-" He began but stopped when he found he didn't know what to say to the little blue-eyed boy beside him. Just looking at what the boy had, gave him the hunch that the boy's mother planned this; dropping him off with a little suitcase, telling him to wait for her, knowing all along that she wouldn't return to him and he would sit waiting in the cold, loyally, for her to pick him up.

Aster Bunnymund was a tough guy, he had to be; his was the only on left in his family line thanks to a horrible plane crash he narrowly avoided boarding, and being in the police department. He had to have a hard mask on most of the time. But in this one moment, looking down at this young child, this innocent life, his mask began to crumble. Instantly, he reached over and pulled Jack into a hug.

The child didn't fight it; in fact, he didn't even know what Officer Bunnymund was doing. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving ya a hug." Bunnymund told Jack as it dawned on him, if the child didn't know what he was doing, he's probably never had a hug before.

"Oh." Was Jack's only reply before he melted the tiniest bit into his first ever hug.

"Let's go get ya something to eat." Bunnymund said as he pulled away. He stood up from the pavement and held out his hand to the almost 4 year old. When the boy took his hand, Bunnymund reached down to the bag's Jack had.

* * *

Aster Bunnymund sat in the lobby at the table, across from Jack, watching as the child ate his food. He could plainly see the boy hasn't had proper nutrition. But at the moment, his main concern was finding out who this kid was. "So, Jack, what's your last name?"

"Mother told me my name before she dropped me off. She said my name was Jack Frost."

_'Told me my name before she dropped me off.'_  That was an odd thing to say on the topic. "Didn't you know before?"

Jack finished eating his carrot before he replied. "No, she always called me boy." He shrugged, as if it were normal thing.

That pulled at Aster's heartstrings. He was so nonchalant saying that. A child should not be used to his mother only calling him 'boy' and not having a real name. Aster kind of took that Frost was just a name that popped into Jack's mother's head. The fact that Jack wasn't his true name; just another name that came to mind. "How did you end up waiting for her?" He pushed the paper cup full of apple juice Jack had been trying to reach, towards him.

He took a small sip and sat the cup back down. "She was driving and the car started to slow and she said she thought that since the car wasn't used to the extra weight in the back, it was being weighed down. So she stopped the car and had me get out. She said she was just driving around the block to see if what she thought was right." Jack dropped his fork in the Mac and Cheese he was about to eat. He stared at it for a moment while tears filled up his blue eyes. He looked up at the officer. "She's not coming back is she?"

Aster's heart just shattered. "I- I don't know, bud. Why don't you finish eating?" His voice ever so slightly cracked.

Jack did as he was told, sniffling every once in a while.

"I have to go in the next room for a moment, are ya gonna be okay out here?" Bunnymund asked as Jack took a bite of macaroni and cheese.

Jack gave a small nod as he accidently dropped a small forkful of the cheesy noodles on his shirt.

Bunnymund chuckled before handing a paper napkin to the child. "Alright, I'll be right back." He stood up and turned around. "Keep an eye on him." He told the random officer stuck behind the front desk.

The desk officer nodded in acknowledgement, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Aster made his way up a flight of stairs to his boss' office. He gave a light knock and waited to be let in.

"Is open!" A Russian accented voice bellowed through the door.

Aster winced at the loudness before he opened the door. "North, mate, we've got a problem."

North sat up straighter in his chair. "What's the problem?"

"I found a kid on the streets." Aster began.

"Runaway?" North absently waved his hand. Runaways were always being picked up off the streets in this town.

"No, he's only almost four." Aster sat in the seat across from his boss.

 


	5. 5

"What?" The older man with the white beard asked as Officer Bunnymund sat in a seat in front of his desk. "Where is child now?"

"Down stairs, he's eating some macaroni and cheese from the cafeteria." Aster placed his elbow on the armrest of the chair and leaned his head in his hand.

North shook his head, not at Aster or the child downstairs, but at the parents of the child. "Do you know what happened?"

Aster nodded. "Somewhat." He retold the story Jack told him moments before. "The poor boy didn't even have a name until she dropped him off."

"She obviously doesn't want him." North sighed, running a hand through his super long beard. "Only thing to do, is take him over to orphanage."

Aster hesitated. "Yeah." He stood up. "Better go tell him."

"I'll follow you down." North stood as well and fell in step behind the officer.

When North walked through the door, and his eyes instantly fell on Jack, he felt a pang of sadness run through his chest. The poor child was so malnourished, and small, like a strong blow of the wind could topple him.

"Hey, Jack, this is my boss, Mr. North." Aster sat in front of Jack.

"Hi." Jack gave a small smile towards North, but leaned away from the man.

"Hi Jack." North sadly smiled.

Aster looked like he was going to say something but the words died in his throat. He looked over at North; his facial expression told his boss that he didn't know how to go about this.

So, North stepped in. "Jack, do you know what an orphanage is?" The man asked as he sat in the seat off to the side of the table.

Jack shook his head. "No, sir." He muttered quietly.

"Well, it's place specifically for children, like you, who don't have any place to go to at night." North began. "We're going to have to take you over there in a little bit."

"Why?" Jack sat straight up, trying to move as far away from this man as possible, now seeing him as a threat. "Mother said she was coming back though!"

"Jack," Aster tried to add his two cents in.

"She said she would be right back!" Jack continued, shaking his head.

Aster moved closer to Jack. He looked the boy in the eyes. "Jack," He began again. "We have to take you there."

"Why?" The child quietly asked.

"Well, it's the law." Officer Bunnymund told the boy. "We need to know you're somewhere safe, not out on the streets."

Jack sniffled. "I wanna go home."

The Australian-born officer looked at the boy with a look akin to pity. "I know," He began, he placed his hand on the back of Jack's chair to steady himself as he actually knelt down to the boy's eye level. "I know you do, I would too. But, we need to take you there so you're not out on the streets so you're not getting into trouble or something. We need to know you're safe and sound at night when you go to sleep ad that you're getting fed."

The tiny child sniffled again. "I don't wanna go there."

The officer nodded in understanding. He knew what some orphanages could be like, having taken numerous kids to their before, and stories kids have told him.

"But we gotta take you there." Aster said softly.

The boy scooted way from the officer, distrust now forming in his eyes. "No."

The Officer sighed. This was going nowhere.

"Aster," North looked over at him. "Come here for moment."

Reluctantly, Aster stood and followed North to the hallway. "What?"

North stroked his beard. "Why don't you take him?"

Green eyes widened. Of all the things he thought North would say, that was not on the list. "What?"

"Boy seems comfortable with you, hell-bent that his mother is coming back." The older of the two began. "He seems to be able to talk to you, since he's told you what happened, it seems without any sort of hesitation. No?"

A nod came form the flabbergasted officer.

"Then why don't you give it a try?" Blue eyes staring at green ones, in an almost uncomfortable manner.

Aster thought about it. There honestly was a reason why he wasn't married or had children, and North knew that. Sure the Australian was great with kids, babysitting neighbors kids when they needed help, talking to scared children on the street looking for their mommies, helping organize community events. But to actual have a child living with him would be different. At the end of the day, the child would still be with him, counting on him for just about everything. And Jack's only four! He would need Aster for everything! Down to reading!

"I don't think that's a good idea, mate." He whispered to his boss.

"Why do you think that?" North gave him a look, plainly knowing if he pesters Aster enough about this, he'll eventually take the kid under his wing.

"I work all the time, I don't get home until after eight at night, and nobody is there to be with him." Aster began. "I've, obviously, never raised a kid before-"

"But you've babysat kids." North commented.

"At the end of the day, they go back to their parents. Jack would be there all the time. And he's so little; he'd need me for everything. I can't be there every second of the day." He lamely finished, already seeing where this argument was going.

North gave him a chuckle. "Daycare is marvelous thing. We could adjust your hours so you could get off in late afternoon before they close, maybe even cut you down to borderline part time."

"Yes, cutting my hours and paycheck  _is_  the way to help raise a child." Aster harshly stated.

The white-haired male shook his head. "I didn't say make you work part time. I said to cut your hours to ' _borderline part time_.' Just enough hours to reach full time, but not as many hours as your working now."

Aster huffed, successfully losing this battle.

"But, choice is yours." North continued. "Your house, your rules, your call."

Aster stared his boss down for a moment, before his shoulders slumped. "Fine. We'll give it a shot." He sharply turned on his heels and walked back to Jack.

North smiled smugly to himself. He had a feeling this will work out for the best.

Aster walked over and took his original seat in front of Jack.

Small blue eyes looked at him from under dark bangs.

"So, we came up with a different plan." Aster began. "And you can ultimately choose which you'd like better, okay?"

A small nod was the only response.

"So, you can either let us take you to the orphanage, or," He paused for a moment, watching as Jack shook his head at the mention of going to an orphanage. "Or you can stay with me a for a while."

"Can I?" He looked up fully, hope and desperation shown in his innocent little eyes.

Now it was Aster's turn to nod.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Two hours, a stack of paper work and one smug boss later, Aster and Jack were pulling into a Wal-Mart parking lot; they needed to get a few things so Jack could sleep through the night, and other necessities they needed right then.

"Whoa." The child looked around, as he let go of Aster's hand, who was currently getting a cart. The child had never been in a store before, always being left home by his mother.

"Wanna ride in the cart?" The newly named parent asked.

"Can I?" Jack jumped up and down in excitement.

Aster gave a quick laugh before picking the child up and placing him in the cart where the groceries go. The child laughed when Aster started to push the cart, earning a few warm smiles from adults around them. "Just make sure to stay seated, 'kay?"

"'kay!" Jack replied.

"What should we get first? Food or clothes?" The Australian asked, as they started making their way into the store.

"Food!" The child replied.

"Food it is then." The adult turned down a few aisles to get to the correct side of the store. "What's your favorite food, Frostbite?" The nickname just rolled off his tongue by accident, though Jack didn't seem to take notice.

"Cheerios!" Jack replied, pointing to a pyramid of different Cheerios flavors in the middle of the aisles.

"Which one?"

"Honey nut!"

Aster handed a box of Honey Nut Cheerios to the beaming child.

"Thank you."

The off duty officer chuckled. "You're welcome. What else should we get?"

The blue-eyed child shrugged. "I dunno."

"Well then," The 24 year old began. "We'll just have to grab everything."

Jack laughed, seeming to know not to take that literally.

"Which blanket do you like?" Aster asked as he pointed to a few comforter sets; one had space ships, another had some sort of sport theme, and a third one had something with dragons.

"That one!" Little Jack pointed to the dragon's set.

"Good choice." Aster commented as he handed it to Jack, who hugged it close to him. "Alright, so we got you some clothes, some bed stuff, and plenty of food." He ran down the mental shopping list he made on the way to the store earlier. "I think we're done for now." He started pushing the cart toward the checkout line, but quickly stopped. "Almost forgot." He turned the cart all the way around, making Jack laugh at the sudden motion. He looked above the aisles to find the one he was looking for.

The car seat aisle.

How awkward would it be to be pulled over by a co-worker because his newly adopted child wasn't in a car seat?

"One more thing, which car seat do you like, Jack?" Aster motioned to the seats in front of them.

"Blue!" The child pointed to the one directly in front of him.

Aster chuckled. "You like that colour don't you?"

Jack nodded as he watched his guardian slide the boxed seat under the cart.

"We'll get you a bed tomorrow, okay?" Aster more of stated instead of asked, as he got Jack situated in his bed. "So for now, you can sleep here."

"Okay." The brown haired child yawned. He snuggled down in the quilt Aster just tucked around his tiny body, instantly dropping off to dream land.

Aster stood there for a few moments, just watching Jack. He seemed to be a pretty calm child, but of course, he's only been around Aster for a few hours. The 24 year old officer ran his hand through his short dark grey dyed hair.

Honestly, what would have to go through someone's mind to just drop a child off on the edge of the street? And tell the child that they were coming back in a few moments? How could some one do that? And how could one not name a child for four years? That's crazy.

Aster smiled at how innocent Jack looked. He's so tiny and helpless, and he doesn't deserve the life he's had to live. Just by looking at the child, Aster could see just how malnourished he was and almost how starved for attention he was. The little guy practically beamed like a light whenever Aster talked to him.

Sighing, he turned to leave his room, turning on the little desk light by the door, in case Jack was afraid of the dark, and made his way down the hall and stairs to the living room.

He settled on the couch with his blanket and pillow and pulled his laptop into his lap; and proceeded to spend the next three hours looking up how to raise a child.

North and Aster carried a rather large and awkward box up the stairs, under the 'guidance' of Jack, who honestly was just bouncing around at the top of the stairs watching the adults drag the large object up.

They were bringing in an actual bed for Jack, because as much as Aster didn't mind sleeping on the couch, he really couldn't have any aches and pain when he went back to work. You can't chase after 'bad guys' with a bad back and stiff legs; that wouldn't keep anybody safe.

That and Jack really wanted to be able to use his new blanket and other new bed stuff they got.

When they got up to what was now Jack's room, was just a barely used office, they leaned the boxed bed against the wall.

"Gonna help us, Snowflake?" Aster asked as North cut the box's top.

"Yeah!" The child jumped around some more.

North watched the interaction between Jack and Aster with a smile on his face. He knew the idea of Jack staying with the Australian was a good idea. For one, Jack seemed happy, obviously, he didn't know how happy Jack was when he was with his 'mother' but he seemed like the happiest child. And Aster, the two of them go way back to when Aster first moved here as an exchanged student and ended up staying. He always had this grumpy, uncaring façade, but deep down North knew the teen had cared a little too much about things. Especially children. Aster signed up for anything that helped children. North wouldn't know why until years later when the Australian had mentioned how he didn't have a fun childhood, always working or watching one of his younger siblings. So he always made sure to help kids have at least one good, fun day memory to fall back on.

North knew he made the right 'suggestion'.

A few hours later, they were almost done with the construction of the bed.

"'Righty tighty, lefty loosey.'" Aster told Jack as he help the kid twist in a screw with a Phillips head. "So turn your hand to the right." When the child gave him a confused look, he gently turned Jack's hand to the right. "This way is right." He said in a soft voice. "And this way is left." He turned the small hand the other way. "So, which way do we want to turn this?"

"Right." Jack smiled as he turned his hand back to the right, all by himself.

"Yeah!" Aster nodded. "Alright, last one, then your bed is done. You get to do the honors." He scooted back a little and pointed to the last screw on the floor and then the last empty slot.

The blue eyed child picked up the last fastener and placed it in it's little home. The only hesitated for a second before twisting his hand to the right, just like Aster showed him. "Tada!" Jack laughed.

"Great job, Jack!" North smiled.

Aster ruffled the brown, unruly hair. "We'll go down and get your new mattress and then we can put your new sheets on." He told him before the two adults walked out of the room.

"Yay!" Jack laughed. He looked around his new room until his eyes settled on the big box his bed came in. With a mischievous smile, he crawled into the cardboard cave, pulled the flaps over him and waited.

"Alright Jack," Aster huffed as he and North finally got the mattress situated. He looked around. "Jack?"

North peeked in the slightly ajar closet door, but didn't see Jack. "Jack?"

"Where'd he go?" Aster looked at North.

Jack stifled a laugh as he bounced a little and then jumped out of the box. "Boo!"

Aster flew about 10 feet in the air while North only flinched at the scare.

"Good one, Jack." North commented laughing.

"Give me a heart attack!" Aster breathed out with his hand on his chest, before adding a laugh, albeit a little forced, of his own. "All right you little ankle biter," He reached over and pulled Jack out of the box. "Let's get your bed finished."

North placed the new sheet on the bed while Aster and Jack got the pillowcases on the pillows and unfolded the blanket.

"All done." North said as the three of the stepped back to admire their handy work. Jack wasted no time in running and jumping on his new bed.

 


	7. Chapter 7

It was eleven thirty and Aster was still up. He was lounging on the sofa, looking up more parenting articles when the storm started. It had been raining all day, but now it was thundering and lightning, the whole works. He didn't pay much mind to it, not even when the power gave a small flicker.

* * *

It was storming, pretty hard. Rain poured down, hitting the window of Jack's room just right to wake him up. Normally, he could sleep through rainstorms, but as he went to close his eyes again, his eyelids lit up for half an nano-second then an earthshaking BOOM could be heard  _and_  felt. Instantly, the four year old jackknifed into a sitting position.

He  _hated_  storms; they sounded angry and violent. The lightning scared him, bright flashes appearing out of nowhere and striking somewhere at random. You never knew where it was going to hit next; it could be the ground, your house, the tree next to your house that would fall onto your house, or it could strike you.

Another 'boom' resounded through the air, and Jack lay back down and curled into a little ball, covering his head with his blanket and letting out small whimpers. Part of him wanted to run off to Aster, but the one time he had tried that with his mother, she had practically thrown him off her bed and had yelled at him for waking her up. He didn't want Aster to be mad at him and yell at him as well.

So he just stayed where he was and cried to himself.

* * *

The small sound of crying reached his ears, the next second, Aster jumped off the couch and sprinted up the stairs. He came to a stop outside Jack's slightly ajar door and the crying was slightly louder.

The man gave a small knock before he opened the door the rest of the way. "Jack?" He took a step in and glanced toward the supposed-to-be-sleeping child, he saw how the four year old had curled around himself under his blankets. "Jack?" He tried again and made his way to the child's bed and sat on the edge.

A pair of eyes peeked out of the blanket's end and flicked between looking at the man and the window.

"What's wrong?" The Australian reached over to remove the blanket from Jack's face.

"I don't like storms." Came the simple answer.

"And why is that?"

"They're scary."

Aster gave a nod.

_Rule one of parenting,_  Aster had read from one of the article, ' _don't berate a child's fear of something. Don't say "there's nothing to be afraid of", it makes the child believe his feelings are invalid.'_

"Yeah, they can be scary." He moved to sit next to Jack, leaning his back against the headboard. He pulled the bundle of blanket and child onto his lap. "I used to be afraid of them when I was younger."

"Really?" Jack asked as he attempted to get as close to Aster as he possibly could.

"Yeah. I used to hide under my bed until they passed. I remember one night, I actually fell asleep under my bed. Scared my mother when she didn't see me the next morning." Aster gave a soft chuckle. He had flashbacks of her freaking out and almost crying until he crawled out and asked her what was wrong.

Jack wasn't as tense as he was a few moments ago. "Did you get in trouble?"

A shake of Aster's head surprised Jack. He remembered one time, he had hid from his mother behind a curtain and popped out and scared her. She yelled at him for ten minutes. "Wow." Was all the child had to say on the matter.

Another boom of thunder put all that tenseness right back into Jack's little body.

Aster sent a glare to the window, trying to reprimand Mother Nature for sending out a storm now.

Lightning flashed and Jack whimpered into Aster's chest.

A hand carded through Jack's shaggy mop of brown hair. "Wanna sleep in my room tonight?"

A blue eye showed itself and looked up into green. "Really?" The word seemed to have so much emotion behind it, hesitant and bewilderment.

The adult nodded his head. "Come on Frostbite." He kept Jack in his arms as he stood up. "Do you want your blanket?"

Jack shook his little head, but kept a hold of the stuffed rabbit Aster hadn't known he had.

When he got Jack situated, Aster had to run back down stairs and turn everything off. When he got back into his room, he found Jack curled back up into the same ball of blanket as he did when he went into Jack's room.

"Ah, I see you are a blanket hog." Aster joked as he climbed into his bed and attempted to pull a corner of his blanket. He tickled Jack and managed to get a little more blanket as Jack giggled.

"Alright, you little ball of blanket, time to get some sleep."

Hours later when Aster was startled a wake by a loud clap of thunder, he looked down and saw Jack cuddled up against him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> My first posting on here, this story is originally posted over on my Fanficiton account. And I can safely say that everything in here is fictionalized, especially some technical stuffs to be mentioned later.


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